Columbia is looking to become the first city in Missouri to institute a plastic bag ban. However, when the issue comes before the city council on March 2, city staff will ask the council to delay a vote on the proposed ban for another year. But many cities and even one state have passed plastic bag bans or fees. KBIA’s Steven Anthony has the story.
In late 2014, Columbia began drafting a proposal to ban plastic bags in the city. The Energy Use, Efficiency and Conservation Subcommittee was tasked with drafting the proposal which would eventually be submitted to the Columbia City Council for consideration.
While Columbia would be the first city in Missouri to have such a ban, Columbia wouldn’t be the first city, or even the first state, to propose and even pass a ban on plastic bags. Some of the cities with complete bans include Portland, Seattle, Austin, and Santa Fe.
Some cities have also passed a fee on plastic bags with Dallas being the latest city to do so.
Dallas City Councilmember Dwaine Caraway pushed through the fee in the spring of 2014 after his push for a complete ban fell apart due to lack of support from fellow councilmembers.
He says the Dallas bag fee has had a bumpy rollout, but it’s beginning to work.
“The use of the bags coming out of the store has reduced greatly,” Caraway said. “The litter on the streets has reduced greatly and folks are jumping onboard.”
Phil Rozenski of the American Plastic Bag Alliance said Dallas’ ordinance is unnecessary and burdensome because no retailers can achieve compliance.
“It’s probably the most oppressive and poorly-written ordinance we’ve ever seen,” Rozenski said. “None of them are effective, but this one is absolutely chaotic.”
Portland passed their original ban in 2011 and expanded it to include all stores in late 2013.
Megan Ponder of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability said the city’s ban has worked because they focused on reusable bags.
“We worked with organizations that serve low-income and senior communities to provide about 10,000 reusable bags,” Ponder said.
Santa Fe’s bag ordinance turns a year old this week and while the original ordinance included a 10 cent charge on paper bags, the charge was repealed before it went into effect.
Fabian Trujillo of the Santa Fe Economic Development Division says his city took a similar approach as Portland to instituting a ban.
“We distributed [reusable bags] out to the public that they could come in and get them,” he said. “We were at fairs [and] community events.”
While many cities in California already had plastic bag bans, the state legislature passed a statewide ban in 2014 and it was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in late September. This made the Golden State the first state in the nation with a statewide ban.
Current California Secretary of State Alex Padilla passed the ban as a state senator last year and says plastic bags affect the entire state.
“Plastic bags equally wreak havoc in the inland communities and in the cities and the rural areas of the state,” Padilla said. “I believed it needed a statewide solution.”
The Hawaii state legislature hasn’t passed a statewide ban, but all counties in the state have a ban on plastic bags.
Much of the advice Columbia received from the decision makers across the country advised Columbia against the fight they could face from retailers.
“Don’t just worry about the business areas,” Trujillo said. “Get advice from the whole community.”
Ponder said Portland let retailers do one thing that Columbia should consider if they pass a ban.
“What I would recommend is when it is implemented that you at least allow enough time for retailers to go through their existing inventory,” Ponder said.
Caraway said the issue doesn’t have to be political.
“Keep the politics out of it,” Caraway said. “Keep the corporates out of it and go with just the facts.”
Rozenski advises cities and states to think twice before passing a ban or fee.
“We do think that abating litter makes sense, but banning products is wasteful environmentalism,” he said. “It’s not meaningful environmentalism.”
Last weekend, Columbia city staff revealed they will ask the council at its next meeting on March 2 to delay the vote for possibly up to a year because residents haven’t had much time to learn about the effects of the proposed ban.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Youngblood/Flickr